Information or Conversion (part one): Knowing Your Approach
Understanding and Change was beaten into my head over and over again in my Catechetics courses at Franciscan University. You can ask any FUS student who took a Catechetics class in the last 15 years and I'm sure they can spout out CT 20 to you in a heartbeat.
After 8 years of ministry, both full time and traveling on the side, I've done about 100 retreats and conferences, and have given over 300 hours of talks. Each talk is crafted to suit the needs of the audience as best as I can know them (hence the importance of relational ministry!). I have become to learn the subtle differences between a talk that is more about information transfer and one that seeks conversion primarily.
Last weekend I did a Confirmation retreat weekend, which is usually time to engage in heavy apologetics and a basic introduction to the Gospel. But not this weekend. The kids were pretty well educated and definitely enthusiastic to be there, which is rare. I realized half way through the opening songs that my original line up of talks would have to be augmented to suit a more prepared audience. My talks would have to change now.
3 Things to Do When Talking About Sex
So there you are, a twenty-something college Religious Studies graduate running a high school youth group in the suburbs, in a room filled with 100+ teenagers who are collectively angry at whatever it is you, as an old man, have to say about sex and relationships. You clear your throat and begin...
BUT WAIT! Don't make the same mistakes that I've made in my rookie days as an anstinence-pledge-card-bearer. Here are 3 simple things you can do when giving a chastity talk to have a wider impact on the hearts and minds of your students that can create lasting change.
No More Cheerleaders
I hate the most of the "Men's Sessions" or the "Guys' Talks" that I've heard for high school students.
Men's sessions are too often led by cheerleaders. They appeal to the emotions, which soon wear off, and give no solid foundation. But men do not need cheerleaders.
Think about it for a moment: who are the cheerleaders for? The players? No, cheerleaders perform for the sake not of the players, but for the spectators. Their role is to get the spectators engaged and fired up and cheer and that's it. They don't want super fans to be so inspired that they take to the field in their fancy, officially branded t-shirts. They just want the spectators to get a little bit louder here and now. Tomorrow doesn't matter.
Christianity does not need any more spectators. We desperately need participants, those committed to "running so as to win". We need players, not fans; participants struggling to win, not spectators comfortable in the stands watching others' actions decide the outcome of events.
DAY SIX: THE JOY OF TRIAL
The Desire to Fit In
Let no one tell you that being in high school is easy. There seems to be so much riding on your exams, your grades, your after-school activities, that it produces a lot of stress on its own. There is also the enormous pressure to look, talk, and act a certain way. Some people feel these pressures differently than others, but they are still there. Fitting in, not standing out- for a lot of teens in school, this is priority number one. And it doesn’t go away once you get into college. It is perfectly natural for most people to not want to stand out in the crowd.
Being Catholic does not always make it easy to fit in. There’s Ash Wednesday, when people tell you that you have a smudge on your forehead all day. It makes you stand out. Then you have to explain why you have ashes on your head. The purpose of the Catholic Church is to call everyone into a real relationship with Jesus Christ, and with that relationship comes ways of living and thinking that are increasingly unpopular, and even hated. But the goal of the Church is not to appeal to the majority, but to be faithful to Jesus.